The Virtues affect the starting levels of other traits: Willpower is based on starting Courage, and Humanity (or its equivalent) is based on the total of starting Conscience and Self-Control. Many vampires follow Paths of Enlightenment (or, in the Dark Ages, Roads) rather than Humanity. Many of these Paths and Roads use the alternate Virtues of Conviction and/or Instinct, which may replace Conscience and Self-Control, respectively.

The Laibon, as depicted in VTM: Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom, use the Virtues of Orun (Heaven) and Aye (Earth), which represent the vampire's spirituality and humanity, respectively. Orun partially governs the vampire's Disciplines and to their ability to resist the workings of hostile magic, while Aye is used to resist frenzy and function during the day. Both of these traits also reflect the vampire's appearance: vampires with high Aye can pass for mortals, vampires with high Orun appear beatific, and vampires with low Orun appear bizarre or even monstrous. The Guruhilegacy (Laibon Nosferatu) are an exception, as their weakness makes it difficult to determine the actual state of their Virtues. A Laibon's maximum total ratings in these Virtues is restricted by generation: Laibon of tenth generation (or of even weaker blood) can only have a total of ten dots between these two Virtues.